July 16, 2007

Celebrating 60

July Forth at Minnetonka

Carving the Pig

Relaxing on My Birthday

Thanks for the Gifts

Last week was a great week for seeing friends and family. On the Forth of July, many of us gathered at my brother’s lake home. We ate and drank and boated and played in Lake Minnetonka. My nephew, Bjorn, returned to the Twin Cities for the first time in years. He brought his six-year-old daughter, Annika, with him.

Cutting the Cake

The Little Ones Came Too

Thanks for the Cards

The big day was Saturday. Betty and Birgitta had planned a great event to celebrate my sixtieth birthday. The party was their wonderful gift to me. There were many friends and family members in attendance. Some came from great distances, including my dad from Mississippi, Dain and Marleta from LA, Bjorn - my nephew - from Portland, Steve and Ellen from LaCrosse, and John - Betty’s brother - from Oakland. There would have been even more if my birthday did not fall so close to the holiday, because so many folks leave the city for the holiday. My only regret is that I did not get a chance to talk to everyone, which was my own fault for not making a more concerted effort to circulate. In no particular order I will attempt to name the guest. Please, forgive me is I miss listing you. The guests not listed above included: Brian Sundstrom and Judy Olausen; Gay and Randy Richards; Seth Linder, the father of our future and first grandchild; Eric Linder and his family; Marty Christensen and Cindi; Greg Cain and his family; Jørn and Manja Loberg; Fred Allis and Ellen; Mike and Helen Esch; Jessica and Juno Jimenez; Jeff Kendall and his family; Pete Pelletier; Nancy and Allan Bernard; Harry and Teresa Wernecke; Pat Cassady; my Aunt Mary Lou and Esther and Michael; Dana and Sue Beasley; Karen; Orlando; Vivian Young; Angelica and Mariah Young; Rich Young and Tammy; Rick Tollefson; Becka; Angela and her kids; Tom, Heidi, Ty and Ada Schmidt; Eddie, Sarah and Abbie Baggenstoss; Sandy Martin; Janna Peterson; Marge McGown; Mickey Turk; Paul Speltz; John Ganapes; Wayne McGee; Ericka and Ebin Sundstrom; Catharine Tierney and Alex St. Croix; Kim Johansen; and my great neighbors, Krisa, Jim, Mikaela, and Austin Pyrch.

Everything else was nearly perfect. Some might say the humidity and heat was a bit high (95f or 35c), but this is summer. The barbecued pig was fantastic. Betty’s potato salad was outstanding as usual. Several people brought great salads to share. Orlando and Dain made drinks. The sno-cones, margaritas and piña coladas were outstanding.

I want to thank everyone who sent me an email, which came from all over the world. I also want to thank those who telephoned with birthday greetings, and especially to Laura who called from Galway, Ireland. Many birthday cards and greeting came in the mail, or were hand-delivered at the party. Finally, many brought a small gift, and I thank you all most heartily.

My gratitude for a most wonderful day goes primarily to Betty and Birgitta. They worked hard and long to make the day go off without a hitch. Thank you Betty - my love - and thank you Birgitta - my wonderful daughter.